Key economic indicators show less economic deterioration than other countries of the region.
An article in Prensa Libre published comments by two Guatemalan economists, Mario Cuevas and Carlos González Arévalo. The former is president of the Center for Economic Investigations (CIEN), while the latter represents the Association for Social Studies and Investigations.
The monetary authority of Guatemala, Banguat, continued to intervene in the market by selling dollars to address a rise that could be due to speculation.
Authorities and analysts argued about the causes for the appreciation of the US currency for which there are apparently no clear causes.
Yesterday, March 18, the reference exchange rate was Q8.10 for $1 US, while at some banks the selling price of the currency was being quoted between Q8.14 and Q8.18.
The figure is the highest on record since 1996 when it was at 10.85%, according to the National Statics Institute (INE).
According to prensalibre.com "According to the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which was presented yesterday by the INE, inflation for December 2008 was above the 5.5% target that was set by the Bank of Guatemala (Banguat).
"It is the biggest in the series, but the elements that cause the increase in prices were more violent in 2008 than in recent years," commented Carlos Gonzalez Arevalo, an analyst at the Association for Social Investigation and Studies (Asies)."